A day after upsetting 2nd seed Li Na in Eastbourne, Daniela Hantuchova defeated Venus Williams 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. Prior to today, Williams held a 10-0 record against Hantuchova. The Eastbourne tournament is Williams' first in four months.
Hantuchova's opponent in the semifinals will be 5th seed Petra Kvitova, who defeated Agnieszka Radwanska 1-6, 6-2, 7-6. As I mentioned earlier this week, Kvitova has become a kind of substitute for Thrill Ride lately; she was down a break in the third set.
Top seed Vera Zvonareva was beaten today by 7th seed Sam Stosur. Stosur was down a set and break when she turned the match around and won it, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. The match lasted over two hours and 48 minutes, and featured a half dozen breaks of serve.
Stosur's opponent in the semifinals will be 6th seed Marion Bartoli, who won her quarterfinal match when 3rd seed Victoria Azarenka retired--again--with a thigh strain. Bartoli took the first set 6-2, and was up 2-0 when Azarenka stopped playing.
In doubles, the first and second seeds--Peschke/Srebotnik and Huber/Raymond--are still in the competition, as are the unseeded teams of Mattek-Sands/Shaughnessy and Martinez Sanchez/Medina Garrigues.
Bravo Daniela !!
ReplyDeletePlayed quite brilliantly for the first set and a half before the wind kicked in. Regrouped well in the third. 10-zip over 10 long years, that win today must have felt sweet indeed.
I think Hantuchova is going to make a nice run at Wimbledon; I can't wait to see who's in her draw.
ReplyDeleteDaniela has been on fire! I am so happy she is regaining form :)
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed for a deep run at Wimby, she is probably the most dangerous player in the draw. Inform and plays her best tennis on grass!